Najjar Abdul-Musawwir was born October 25th, 1958, in Chicago, Illinois. He is an internationally acknowledge artist who has exhibited throughout the United States, Africa, Asia and Europe. He currently works as an Associate Professor of studio arts and art history in the School of Art and Design at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He is the host for WSIU Expressions.

He has received distinguish and prestigious acknowledgments, and among them are: first Artist-n-Residency/exhibition for the N'Namdi Center for Contemporary Art in Detroit, invitational Artist-n-Residency/exhibition by the Tuanku Fauziah Museum and Gallery in Malaysia, commission to create piece the Visions of Our 44th President travelling exhibition hosted by Charles H. Wright Museum in Detroit, Rickert Ziebold Trust Awardee, Judge William Holmes Cook Professorship Endowment, and was invited by the MacAuthur Foundation in Chicago as a member of an Illinois artists' consulting team.

Najjar’s works illustrate culture, faith, and history through abstract language. He uses different materials as a metaphor for the human experience; and thus, he abstracts material to discuss our abstract existence. His paintings are harmonious visions of contrasting colors, flowing liquefaction, and symbolic transparency. Najjar is known for using burlap sacks/material in his paintings. He consider it a profound and puissant symbol, the idea of burlap exploiting the surface, which speaks to the power of harvesting the spiritual experiences of the human-will – past, present, and beyond the 21st century.